ADOLESCENT MOTHERS AND THE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR OF THEIR CHILDREN

There is little research on the relationship between adolescent mother hood and the criminality of the children. Data from the Cambridge Stud y in Delinquent Development reveals that children from large families who were born to women who began childbearing early are at greatest ri sk of criminality. Three alternative explanations for this relationshi p are explored-the life course-immaturity account, the persistent poor parenting-role model account, and the diminished resources account. W e find no evidence supporting the first account, but in various ways t he analysis provides credible support for the latter two accounts, whi ch themselves are not mutually exclusive.